Life insurance medical exam in Canada: what tests happen and how to prepare

Under the hood · By Penny Hughes · Published November 2, 2026 · Last updated November 2, 2026

A life insurance medical exam in Canada is not a pass or fail test, and it is not always required. Sun Life notes that routine medical tests are only required for certain ages and coverage amounts, and that your medical history can also lead an insurer to request testing. When testing is requested, it usually takes one of two forms, a phone interview about your health history, an in person visit where measurements and samples are taken, or both. Knowing which appointment you have been given is the first step, because the preparation for each one is different.

What the tests actually measure

Underwriting is the review an insurer uses to evaluate health status and set premiums. The tests give that review measured facts instead of only answers on a form.

Blood work is one of the most frequently requested tests. Sun Life lists what it typically measures: cholesterol, reported as total, HDL, and LDL, blood glucose, and liver and kidney function. The sample helps the insurer assess risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other conditions that can affect life expectancy.

Urinalysis, a urine test, is a standard screening tool. Sun Life lists what it can reveal: kidney function issues, urinary tract infections, signs of diabetes, and protein or glucose in the urine.

Measurements are simpler. Height and weight may be collected and used to calculate body mass index, and blood pressure is taken. PolicyMe adds pulse to the set of basic measurements recorded at the visit.

History is the fourth piece, and for many applicants it is the only piece. A medical history questionnaire can cover previous diagnoses and treatments, current medications, surgical procedures, family health history, and lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol use.

PolicyMe notes two further possibilities worth knowing about before the visit, so neither comes as a surprise. Samples can be checked for nicotine and drugs, to confirm that reported answers line up, and an EKG, a recording of heart activity, may be requested to gather information about the heart.

Two appointments, not one

The tele-interview is a phone call. PolicyMe puts it at about 20 to 30 minutes, covering health history, lifestyle habits, and medical background. No samples are taken, so fasting and sleeves do not matter for this appointment. Dates do. Have diagnosis dates, treatment dates, procedure dates, and a list of current prescription drugs ready before the call starts.

The paramedical exam is in person, at home, at work, or at a clinic, and is usually completed by a third party nurse. PolicyMe describes it as thorough but brief, 20 to 30 minutes, with basic measurements, blood pressure, and small blood and urine samples. It is the more comprehensive of the two, because it involves collecting fluids.

PolicyMe lists the situations where a paramedical exam is typically requested: the applicant is over 50, the policy being bought is a larger one, or a condition was flagged in the application. A file can also start with a tele-interview and move to a paramedical visit if the answers raise a question the insurer wants measured rather than described.

How to prepare, step by step

This procedure combines the preparation list Sun Life publishes with the timing windows PolicyMe gives. The timing windows are one Canadian provider's guidance, not a rule every insurer sets, so follow any instructions your own insurer sends first if they differ.

1. Gather the paperwork first. Sun Life lists names and dosages of medications, names, addresses, and phone numbers of doctors or clinics visited in the last five years with the dates of the last visits, your family doctor's details with the date and reason for the last visit, and a list of medical conditions with diagnosis dates, treatment, tests completed, results, and the treating doctor's information.
2. Put photo identification where you will find it. A driver's licence or passport works, and the health professional conducting the exam will need to verify identity before beginning.
3. Twenty four hours before an in person visit, follow PolicyMe's guidance: avoid caffeine, sugar, and alcohol, limit salt and high cholesterol foods, and avoid over the counter drugs that could interfere with test results. Each of those steps protects a measurement the visit will take, blood pressure, glucose, or cholesterol.
4. If you are sick, reschedule. PolicyMe lists rescheduling when sick as part of preparation, and an illness can colour readings that are meant to show your usual state.
5. Ten hours before the visit, fasting is recommended under PolicyMe's guidance. Avoid exercise or excess activity in that window, and avoid smoking or other nicotine intake.
6. Right before the visit, drink a glass of water so a urine sample is possible, and wear a garment with sleeves that roll up easily for blood pressure and the blood draw. Undressing is not necessary.
7. Answer honestly and completely. PolicyMe warns that dishonesty about medical history could result in a denied payout later, which makes a small omission at the exam the most expensive saving in the whole process.

What success looks like: the paperwork list is complete before the appointment, identification is ready, the fasting and activity windows were followed for an in person visit, and every history answer matches what the samples will show.

If you would rather skip the exam

Skipping the exam is a real option, and it has a clear trade. Sun Life's own no exam products show the shape of it. Its simplified term product offers $50,000 to $100,000 of 10 year term coverage with no medical exams and only three simple health questions. Its guaranteed product offers permanent lifetime coverage up to $25,000 with no medical questions and no medical exams, so qualification does not depend on existing health conditions.

Use that as a decision framework rather than a preference. If the coverage a household needs sits inside those kinds of limits, and speed or avoiding testing matters more than amount, a no exam route can fit. If the need is larger, the fully underwritten route, exam included, is the route that can carry it. The exam is the price of the larger amount, paid in half an hour rather than in dollars.

After the visit

The visit is not the end of the file. Sun Life describes the sequence: a healthcare professional reviews history, collects samples, takes measurements, and sends results to your family doctor, and you can see your own results online after two weeks. The underwriting team then reviews the information, and the outcome can be approval, approval with modifications, or a request for more information before a final decision.

Two practical facts belong in the calendar. Sun Life states that most test results are valid for six months, so a long delay before a new application can mean testing again. Sun Life also states that it typically covers all exam costs, so the exam itself should not add a bill to the application. The cost of the process is time and preparation, and both shrink when the paperwork is gathered before the nurse, or the phone, arrives.

, Penny Hughes, Money Writer. Saving Desk